'Javanized' representations of biblical scenes

'Javanized' representations of biblical scenes

By M. Dwi Marianto

YOGYAKARTA (JP): About 15 km to the south of Yogyakarta
Palace, in Ganjuran, Bantul district, there is a Catholic church
built in the 1920s. The architecture of the building and its
decorations adopt a Javanese style.

To the east of the main building there is a Hindu-Javanese
temple built in 1927. Inside, there is a statue of Christ which
is quite different from the usual representation of Christ.

The statue of Christ in this church is represented as a
Javanese character, a messiah similar in appearance and gesture
to a Javanese-Hindu king. The procedure for liturgy, flower-
sprinkling symbolism, the accompanying gamelan music and the
procession are all Javanized. Once a year, in the last week of
June, there is a grand liturgy in the temple's yard, conducted
according to Javanese tradition.

However, in this year's event, a different touch was added. It
featured an Christian-themed art exhibition of the works of Geoff
Tedd, an Australian artist born in Melbourne in 1950 with a
number of art exhibitions in Indonesia to his credit.

The exhibition in Yogyakarta was held between June 22 and 24,
2001. The interior of the church was called "Jesus's Sacred
Heart" and altered the usual atmosphere of the place of worship
with the presence of colors and a diversity of shapes
representing stories from the Bible. Close to the altar, next to
the pulpit, there was a painting in the form of a vertical panel
with fish and bread as the subject matter. This was a clear
metaphorical reference to the miracle that Jesus performed when
he made three pieces of bread and two fish enough to feed 5,000
people.

Unlike his works exhibited in Yogyakarta in 1999 under the
theme titled "Diponegoro's Struggle", this time Todd explored a
religious theme and presented stories about Jesus's life through
his paintings.

He has, for example, taken his inspiration from a number of
stories from the New Testament and interpreted them according to
an artistic language most intimate to him. Take for example
stories about the crucifixion, the relationship between Mary and
Jesus, Judas the betrayer of Jesus. Geoff's representation is
significant in that he has tried to Javanize the figures used to
represent a number of stories from the New Testament. The
following examples will illustrate this aspect.

In Jesus's Sacred Heart, which was on display on the second
floor facing the alter, a space usually used for choir
rehearsals, there was the figure of a clean-shaven
young man. He has a thick upper lip, which is perhaps the result
of Geoff's observation of Javanese lips.

Representing Jesus, this figure is portrayed with an open
chest and the sacred heart bleeding. Exactly above it there is a
crown of thorns and a cross. His left hand is pierced from the
penetration of nails and pointed toward the wounded sacred heart,
while the right hand is in the position of someone giving advice.
The eyes stare straight at the viewer, as if saying something
about the bleeding heart.

Next to this work there is a picture depicting Mary and Jesus
with a red background and the symbolic representation of Mount
Merapi spewing lava. The presence of Mount Merapi shows Geoff's
attempt to Javanize the central figures in the Christian
tradition.

He depicts Mary, wearing a blue cloak, embracing her son Jesus
with her hand in such a way that it immediately strikes one as
the position of a hand in a classical Javanese dance, reflecting
solemnity. Mary is pictured in a three-quarter position. Her
right eye sheds drops of blood, a symbol of sorrow.

The young Jesus is clasped in her embrace. His hair is dark.
His two eyes stare straight at the viewer. This shows Geoff's
attempt to Javanize the countenance of Mary and Jesus.

What's unique about the religious works by Todd are those
showing his personal reflections on the events told in the New
Testament, events that are undoubtedly of special meaning to him.
In this series, Todd presents three pictures with a special
emphasis on Maria Magdalene.

One of the three works shows blond-haired Maria Magdalene
stroking Jesus's right hand, which is sweating and bleeding from
the hole pierced by a nail.

Jesus falls flat on the ground. In another of his works, the
viewers can see sorrow and helplessness on the part of Maria
Magdalene when she finds Jesus' grave empty. Another painting
depicts Maria Magdalene and a toiling farmer in the background.

Of all the works on display, two are beyond the usual
tradition of the Catholic church as they feature Judas, one of
Jesus's disciples who betrayed him as the central figure of the
painting.

Usually the paintings found in a church are those related to
the crucifixion otherwise known as the Way of the Cross. Usually
Judas is never depicted as a central figure. In Todd's work,
Judas is pictured as a man with a beard and moustache.

Emptiness is displayed in his face, the look of a person
feeling deep regret. He is portrayed as having silver eyes.
Interestingly, Judas is dressed like a contemporary gentleman, a
clear reference that Judas's spirit remains even today.

The exhibition of the paintings by Geoff Todd at Tyas Dalem
(Jesus's Sacred Heart) Church, Yogyakarta, with Carlos de Haas as
the curator, is an interesting attempt of re-contextualization.

This is the portrayal of a series of personal reflections on
religious scenes placed in a real context.

The writer is an art curator of the research department of the
Indonesian Arts Institute, Yogyakarta.

Todd is exhibiting his works at the Atlet Century Park Hotel,
Jakarta, until Sunday (today).